Rebirth Of The Sith
by The Chosen One
Summary: Set after Return Of The Jedi, Darth Maul and Count Dooku are cloned...
1. Resurrections

1 REBIRTH OF THE SITH  
  
(DISCLAIMER: All characters, apart from Darth Inferno, are creations of George Lucas, and belong to him. I know next to nothing of the Star Wars Expanded Universe, and my knowledge of Star Wars is taken solely from the movies. So I don't want anybody bombarding me with insults because of an inaccuracy. We'll call this the Alternate Universe rather than the Expanded Universe. Also, we'll just take for granted that Count Dooku dies in Episode III.)  
  
CHAPTER 1: RESURRECTIONS  
  
Darth Inferno wanted revenge. He had never met Emperor Palpatine, but already mourned his loss. He wanted to get revenge on the Jedi known as Luke Skywalker. Darth Inferno was stationed in his great mansion. He had inherited it from his wealthy father. It was this wealth and influence that had given him access to technology that was thought to be lost. Underground, beneath his mansion, he had set up a miniature clone factory. He was able to grow clones at a hyper-speed as well, allowing them to gain years in seconds. He wasn't going to create an army. No, he was only going to clone two people. Darth Maul and Darth Tyranus.  
  
Darth Maul was a very skilled Sith warrior. He was an expert with a double- edged lightsaber and, while he wasn't as famous as some Sith, he was a personal idol of Darth Inferno. Darth Tyranus, known better as Count Dooku, was more famous. He had been a Jedi, but had made the wise decision of joining the Dark Side. His powers had developed to such an extent that he could fire bolts of energy like the great Palpatine. Darth Inferno had chosen these two rather than Darth Vader, perhaps the most famous Sith lord of all, because Darth Vader was a traitor. It was he who had killed The Emperor. Darth Inferno despised him. He would have cloned The Emperor if not for one essential detail. The Emperor had not been mind mapping. This was a process that Darth Maul and Count Dooku had both performed under an experimental basis. Every few days, they uploaded all their thoughts and memories onto a computer system. This would mean that if they ever died, they could be cloned, and their personality could be returned. Darth Vader had undergone the process, but perhaps through distrust of the system, The Emperor never took part in this.  
  
Darth Inferno had the memory files of Darth Maul and Count Dooku. He gave them to the scientists employed by him, and he watched with glee as the cloning process began. DNA samples from the two Sith lords were used, and generated into embryos. From there, these embryos were placed in hyper growth pods, which were only shut off once the subjects had reached the age they were upon their deaths. Their respective memories were then processed into their brains. They would now have the same personality and the same skills that they had in their previous lives. They were essentially the exact same people as their previous incarnations: this was practically less a cloning than a resurrection.  
  
Darth Maul's tattoos were added to him while he was still in his sleeping state. Now all Darth Inferno had to do was to wait for them to awake.  
  
They awoke a few days later. They were then clothed in their traditional Sith attire, and given their trademark weapons. Darth Inferno updated them on the situation.  
  
"Great, prestigious Sith lords. I am Darth Inferno. You may be wondering where you are, and when you are. You are in my mansion, which happens to be on the same planet as the mansion of a certain Princess Leia. Her brother, Luke Skywalker, and their friends brought about the collapse of the Empire. The Empire symbolised the peak of the power of the Dark Side. The Jedi were all but wiped out, and we had taken over. But we have now lost everything, including Emperor Palpatine, your esteemed master. I have no elaborate plan to regain total control of what power we lost. No, my plan is a much simpler one. Revenge." 


	2. A New Way Of Life

CHAPTER 2: A NEW WAY OF LIFE  
  
Princess Leia had got accustomed to living in a palace once again. Han Solo, now her fiancé, and her brother, Luke Skywalker, lived in the palace with her. Chewbacca, R2-D2 and C-3PO lived in the palace as well.  
  
Luke entered the courtyard where Leia was resting. He sat down on the bench next to her.  
  
"I'm beginning to like this new way of life," said Luke.  
  
"It's wonderful that we don't have to worry about The Empire any more," replied Leia.  
  
Both sat in contented silence for a while. Han Solo joined them soon afterwards.  
  
"Hey everybody," said Han Solo, wrapping his arms around Leia and kissing her tenderly.  
  
"I hope that's not how you say hello to everyone," laughed Luke.  
  
Han Solo playfully punched Luke on the arm.  
  
As they were talking, Chewbacca entered, leading a man into the courtyard.  
  
"Jillon Nartano!" exclaimed Leia, "what a pleasant surprise."  
  
Jillon Nartano was relatively young for a man of his status, only in his early thirties. His long black hair was braided in dreadlocks, and he had a pointed goatee. He wore formal black attire, but greeted Leia with an informal smile.  
  
"I came to congratulate you once again on your great victory," Jillon said, "I have brought a gift for you."  
  
Jillon then unveiled a beautiful golden blanket.  
  
"For your bed," he said, "It will make it even more beautiful than I'm sure it already is."  
  
"It is wonderful," said Leia, "Come with me, we'll put it on my bed now."  
  
A while later, Leia and Jillon returned to the courtyard.  
  
"The blanket looks stunning," said Leia, "Thank you."  
  
"No, thank you for your courtesy," replied Jillon, "Now I must go."  
  
Jillon waved to them all as he boarded his ship. He took off into the air. He looked round from his position in the pilot's seat to find himself face- to-face with Darth Maul and Count Dooku.  
  
"I know where Leia's room is," said Jillon Nartano, Darth Inferno, "We strike tonight." 


	3. Attack In The Dark

CHAPTER 3: ATTACK IN THE DARK  
  
Night fell on the palace. Darth Inferno's ship returned.  
  
"You've avoided the question one time too many," said Count Dooku, sitting behind Darth Inferno, "How did we get here?"  
  
"If you must know, you aren't the real Count Dooku," sighed Darth Inferno, "The real Count died, as did the real Darth Maul. You are both clones, with all the memories that were stored on their mind maps loaded into your brain."  
  
There was an uncomfortable silence as the Sith lords let this disturbing fact sink in. Darth Maul eventually broke the silence.  
  
"Who's your master?" he asked.  
  
"Excuse me?" asked Darth Inferno.  
  
"It's a perfectly reasonable question," replied Count Dooku, "Who are you an apprentice to?"  
  
Darth Inferno shifted anxiously in his seat before explaining.  
  
"I have none. I am not officially a Sith. They said I was too petty to learn to live the life of a true Sith. It doesn't matter though. I have used state-of-the-art training simulations to improve my skill, and I am developing the ultimate lightsaber."  
  
"Have you ever been in a battle?" asked a cynical Darth Maul.  
  
"That's not the point," mumbled Darth Inferno, "Anyway, it's time for you and Darth Maul to go."  
  
Darth Maul was about to say something, but Count Dooku urged him out of the ship.  
  
"We ought to kill him," snarled Darth Maul to Count Dooku, "He's of no use to us."  
  
"Not yet," answered Count Dooku, "He has quite a good plan. He may be of some use to us yet."  
  
Leia lay asleep in her bed. She was having a pleasant dream. Suddenly, something pulled her out of her dream state. Her eyes wearily opened. Had she heard something? Leia sat up in bed and rubbed her eyes. The room was too dark for her to see much. Then a gloved hand grabbed her mouth.  
  
"If you try to get away, I'll kill you," whispered Darth Maul, "If you try to call for help, I'll kill you. Understand?"  
  
Chewbacca was relaxing in the courtyard. He often awoke in the middle of the night and came down here. He heard a noise. He walked round to the front of the palace and found the door guards dead. He then noticed Leia being dragged off by a tall, horned man with a face that was tattooed red and black. An older man followed him. Both were dressed in black. Chewbacca lunged forward and knocked the older man to the ground.  
  
Han Solo and Luke Skywalker had also run to the front of the palace by this point. They had heard a few thuds in the palace and had come out to investigate. They watched as Chewbacca approached the old man.  
  
Count Dooku was only feigning injury, waiting for the right time to strike. He sensed the lumbering beast above him. Smiling thinly to himself, he spun round, grabbing his lightsaber. He sliced Chewbacca's head clean off.  
  
"Chewie!" screamed Han Solo, who then charged at Count Dooku in anger.  
  
Count Dooku calmly fired a bolt of lightning at Han Solo, blasting him off his feet.  
  
Count Dooku and Darth Maul started to run across the bridge overlooking the moat surrounding the palace. At the other side, the waiting ship's door opened.  
  
"Stop!" cried Luke.  
  
"Take the girl," said Darth Maul, handing Leia over to Count Dooku, "I want to have some fun."  
  
Count Dooku took Leia into the spaceship. Darth Maul armed his double- edged lightsaber, a red beam coming out each side. Luke pulled out his lightsaber, with a blue beam coming out of the end.  
  
The battle on the bridge commenced. Luke struggled to keep up with the pace of Darth Maul. After a quick series of strokes with his lightsaber, Darth Maul flipped over Luke's head. Luke was ready for him, however, hitting a solid downward strike with the lightsaber as Darth Maul landed. Darth Maul's weapon fell out of his hands. Darth Maul smiled coldly. Luke thrust forward with his lightsaber, but Maul swerved to the side and hit Luke with an elbow to the jaw. A sharp kick from Darth Maul then caused Luke to drop his lightsaber behind him. Laughing, Darth Maul flipped over Luke again and grabbed Luke's lightsaber. However, by the time he had turned round, Luke had gotten hold of Darth Maul's double-edged lightsaber. Luke sliced it into Darth Maul with an upward spinning swipe.  
  
Darth Maul sputtered and dropped Luke's lightsaber. A trickle of blood ran down from Darth Maul's forehead. Soon, blood was running in a vertical line down Darth Maul's body. A half of Darth Maul's body fell off each side of the bridge, clearing the way between Luke and the ship. Han Solo staggered up to him. They caught a glimpse of the man they had known as Jillon Nartano driving the ship.  
  
"Leia will die in 12 hours," announced Count Dooku, just as the ship's doors closed. The spaceship was out of site before Luke and Han Solo could even call out Leia's name in despair.  
  
"What are we going to do?" asked Luke.  
  
"Simple," replied Han Solo, "We're going to get Leia back." 


End file.
